Folding table



Sept. 24, 1935. c. w, sADENwATER FOLDING TABLE Filed Dec. 8, 1934 INVENTOR 1 /P ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 24, 19435 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE FOLDING TABLE Application December 8, 1934, Serial No. '756,633

Claims.

This invention relates to folding tables of the type having a top, for example, an ironing board, supported on a leg structure that is extendible to support the board for service, and foldable flat- 5 wise against the board for storage.

Labor cost is an important item in manufacturing loW-priced ironing tables for a highly competitive market. Hence it is desirable that assembling the parts at the factory be facilitated and simplified as much as possible. The parts themselves must be designed to be manufactured as economically as practicable in quantity, without materially lowering the standard of quality or affecting the appearance of the finished article.

To these ends I have devised and invented the ironing table illustrated in the accompanying drawing and hereinafter described in detail, my invention residing in the construction of the several legs and braces and in the way they are connected together in order that the table when in use shall rigidly resist the crosswise and lengthwise stresses produced by ironing. Another object of my invention is to provide a folding table that can be easily erected and taken down by the user. A further object is to provide such a table in which no metal latches, clamps, or springs are employed.

More specifically, my present improvements relate to certain structural features of the individual folding members, and especially to the novel arrangement by which the board, the front leg and the rearward braces that extend from the board to the rear legs are detachably secured together when the table is set up for use.

In the appended claims the essential elements of my invention are pointed out, it being understood, however, that the claims are not intended to be limited to the form of parts illustrated and described further than a limitation to the described form is necessary to differentiate from the prior art.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a side view of my novel ironing table with the legs extended and posiwhich is produced by spreading the rear ends of the braces. l

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a alternative arrangement of the bearing blocks relatively to the braces. 5

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the upper end of the front leg, modied as to location of the slot therein.

Like reference characters indicate like partsin all the figures of the drawing. 10

'I'he top I of my novel ironing table has two bearing members or keepers 2, 2 secured to its under side and spaced apart. A transverse pintle 3 can be inserted in the bearings and removed therefrom through alined slots 4, 4 in the mem- 35, bers 2, 2.

The members 2, 2 may be of wood, and pintle 3 is preferably made of resilient Wood, such as hickory or oak.

'I'he walls of aperture 4 are made to fit pintle 3 20 rather closely, although they permit it to be easily inserted and withdrawn by moving the pintle upwardly or downwardly, as is apparent upon inspection of Figs. 1 and 3.

I have invented a novel means for thus friction- 25 ally securing pintle 3 to the bearing members 2, 2, which will now be described.

Referring to Fig. 4, the dotted lines indicate the initial position, during factory assembling, of the two braces, 5, 5 and pintle 3. The pintle is passed 30 transversely through alined holes in the ends of braces 5, 5, and the braces are spaced apart symmetrically on pintle 3 and are fixed to it, as by brads 5a. The rear ends of braces 5, 5 are then spread apart far enough to engage the usual pair 35 of conventional rear legs 6, to which they are respectively pivoted, at points 1, intermediate their ends. The braces 5, 5 are of Wood or other suitable material and, as an example, in the arrangement shown in Figs. 2 4, they may be 40 about an inch apart at their convergent ends and spaced about ten inches apart at their pivotal connections 1 to legs 6. Spreading their rear ends brings the braces into the divergent position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and slightly bends the pintle 3. The resultant slight angular disalinement of the ends of pintle 3 enables it to frictionally engage and grip the walls of the two alined slots 4 when pushed sidewise into them. 50 'Ihis gripping action is indicated by dotted lines at 3a, Fig. 2. The braces 5, 5 are thereby detachably fastened to the table top with suicient grip to keep them from coming apart under normal conditions of use of the ironing board.

Spring-like action thus established in braces 5, 5 and pintle 3 results in yieldingly stressing all of the joints at 4 and l, giving the board rigidity and preventing wearing or rattling at the joints.

The preferred means for releasably securing front leg 8 to pintle 3 is as follows:

The upper end of leg 8 is beveled as at 8a so as to bear against and support the top I. A slot 9 is formed in the end 8a, being shown in Figs. 1 and 3 as extending lengthwise of the leg. The slot is of appropriate depth to straddle pintle 3 when the latter is in place in the block 2 and leg 8 is moved lengthwise as indicated in dotted lines at l0, allowing the beveled end 8a of the leg 8 to engage the table top.

In an alternative arrangement, shown in Fig.

6, the slot 3a may be disposed crosswise of 8, in

which case the end of leg 8 is moved sidewise instead of endwise to engage or disengage the slot and pintle.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the braces 5, 5 are shown between the bearing members 2, 2 and leg 8 is applied to the mid-length of pintle 3 between braces 5, 5, after the pintle has been entered into the slots, ll. The walls of the slot 9, or 9a, preferably t the pintle so as to engage it frictionally and hold on with a sort of snap action effect.

A pair of tie members Il are pivotally connected at I2 with the front leg 8, as is usual in tables of this kind, their rear ends diverging and being pivoted respectively to the two back legs 6 at points l.

To set up the table, the back legs 6 are rst positioned as in Fig. l. Pintle 3 is then pushed sidewise, that is to say, upwards in Figs. 1 and 3, into slots 4, 4. The braces are then releasably attached to the front leg by pushing the slot il of leg 8 over the pintle, as shown in Fig. 3, until the beveled end 8a of the leg abuts the under side of the table top I.

To disengage the members and fold the table, leg 8 is pulled lengthwise to remove slot 9 from pintle 3, then braces 5,V 5 are pulled downward to remove pintle 3 from slots 4, and the braces 5, the legs E and S and tie members Il are ready to be folded against the under side of the top l.

From the foregoing it is apparent that pintle 3, arranged and operating as described constitutes a convenient frictional means for detachably securing the ends of the front leg 8 and the braces 5 together and for detachably holding both of them to the blocks 2, 2 when the table is set up for use. Slightly bending or springing the pintle 3, in the manner shown in exaggerated fashion in Figs. 2 and 4, provides Ya novel and effective fastening means. That structure and mode of operation is deemed preferable, and I claim it as my invention, but various other and known expediente can be resorted to for providing a frictional snap-action or equivalent easilyreleasable fastening means for the pintle without departing from my invention in its broader aspects and such modifications of the specific releasable fastening means are intended to be included in the scope of certain of the claims.

Although I have shown and described the pintle 3 as being rigidly fixed to the braces 5, 5 and releasably engaged by the leg 8, it is evident that the pintle may if desired, be xed to leg 8 and releasably engaged by the braces, without departing from my invention as set forth in the broader claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a folding ironing table or the like including a top having on its under face spaced bearing members presenting alined slots, rear legs hinged to said top, brace members pivoted to said rear legs and having their free ends convergent, a pintle secured transversely to said convergent ends and adapted to be releasably inserted and removed from said alined slots by sidewise movement thereof, a front leg disposed centrally of the table top, separable therefrom, and having at its upper end means for releasably engaging said pintle, and tie members pivotally connected to the front leg and to the rear legs.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the walls of said alined slots and of the slot in the front leg are adapted to frictionally engage the said pintle and releasably hold the same when the ironing` table is in erected position.

3. In a folding ironing table or the like including a top having on its under face spaced bearing members presenting alined slots, rear legs hinged to said top, brace members pivoted to said rear legs and having their rear ends spaced apart and their free ends convergent, a pintle fixed transversely to said convergent ends and held in sprung condition by the spread rear ends, said pintle being adapted to be releasably inserted by sidewise movement thereof into said alined slots, a front leg disposed centrally of the table top and separable therefrom, and having at its upper end means for releasably engaging said pintle, and tie members pivotally connected to the front leg and to the rear legs.

4. Means for releasably securing the front leg member and the rearward brace member of a folding ironing table to each other and to the table top, comprising spaced bearing members secured to the under side of said top and presenting alined apertures, Ya pintle adapted to be removably inserted by sidewise movement into said apertures, one of said members being releasably secured to the pintle, the other member being, fixed thereto.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 4 wherein CHARLES w. SADENWATER. 

